Brrr… It was pretty warm when we left the hotel in Mountain View, but we found it downright chilly when we got out of the car at Point Reyes. In search of a lighthouse, a shipwreck (more of a grounded fishing boat), and some elk that live in a nearby preserve, we started our day at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. We had the dogs, so Ray and the girls ran in for maps and information, while I waited in the truck.
Our first stop was Inverness, CA, where we grabbed some sandwiches from the market, and took the small trail behind the store to the old, grounded fishing boat. There isn’t much known about it, but it did make some nice pictures. It’s on Tomales Bay (not the ocean), so it’s fairly well-preserved. It’s old and abandoned, which means it’s cool in my book.
We headed on down the road (quite a ways down the road) to find the Point Reyes Lighthouse, which was built in 1870 to “warn mariners of this navigational hazard” (NPS) between San Francisco Bay and locations to the north. The lighthouse was in use for 105 years, until the US Coast Guard installed an automated light. The lighthouse is now maintained by the National Park Service.
We also saw some really great views of the coast, as well as so many cows. It’s always going to seem strange to me to see cattle grazing on hills next to the ocean, but as the Real California Milk commercials say, they are happy and healthy cows. We drove past several ranches that have been in business since the late 1800s.
We also made a stop at Chimney Rock, where we watched elephant seals for a bit. By this time, it was starting to mist, and as fun as it is to watch the seals swim and spar (and just lounge around on the beach), it was time to go.
We saw lots of sights at Point Reyes, though we didn’t make it to the elk preserve (dogs are not allowed, and we had them with us). Still, we did see one lone elk on the side of a hill, while we were eating our sandwiches on the side of the road. We also saw plenty of birds, including California Condors. The wildflowers are in full bloom, and while it certainly didn’t feel like Spring out there, it definitely looked like it on the coastal bluffs and grasslands. We saw lots of poppies, lilies, daisies, and more. Everything was also so vibrantly green!
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